Sliding Puzzles

by Jillian Gregory

Looking for a fun party game that taps into your logical brain power? One fun game is the "sliding puzzle" problem. This game can involve numbers, letters, and pictures. You can find these cool puzzles at party stores, educational venues, and online. You might want to skip telling your party guests that it will tap into their logical brain power as this will likely produce a look of confusion. Just let them know that this puzzle is fun and see who can solve it first.

What is a sliding puzzle? Sliding puzzles come in various forms and level of difficulties. Let's take a look at the origin of sliding puzzles. The first sliding puzzle consisted of 15 pieces that were labeled with numbers 1 through 15. The 15 pieces were placed inside a 4 x 4 piece frame. Therefore, the frame had 16 available slots for the pieces. This allowed the 15 pieces plus one empty slot. The arrangement of the 15 pieces can be varied from increasing numerical order to a random order.

The purpose of the game is to start with an initial arrangement of the pieces and end up with a specified position of one of the pieces. For example, the number "1" piece could start at the top left of the frame. The game would involve moving the "1" piece to the bottom right of the frame. The start and end positions of the "1" piece can be varied to enable further puzzles.

Think you can master this puzzle? The major constraint you have to deal with is that the pieces can only slide. They can not be lifted, turned, or skip over other pieces. Hence the "sliding" puzzle name. This constraint gives the puzzle a complexity that begs to be solved.

Although numbers are common to this puzzle game, you can also find sliding picture puzzles. For example, a picture puzzle can be a human face. The starting position of the pieces can be all mixed up with the eyes on the bottom corners and the mouth at the top left. To solve the puzzle you must slide the pieces around until you create a human face.

Want to test your puzzle skills online? There are two sliding puzzles here at GrandMatrix. One is called Alphabet. The letters are scrambled and the goal is to arrange the letters in alphabetical order from left to right. The other is called Sliding Picture. You are given a picturesque winter scene that is split into pieces. You scramble the pieces and then try to put the pieces back together to form the original winter scene.

When did sliding puzzles hit the puzzle world? The first sliding puzzle was created in the United States in 1878. The inventor of the sliding puzzle remains a mystery. It is a shame that the inventor was not identified because the original puzzles became an instant nation wide craze. They flew out of the stores and millions of puzzle aficionados tried their hand at them. Their popularity could be compared to the hit of the Rubik's cube in the 1980's. The Rubik's cube was their three-dimensional counterpart.

Sliding puzzles attract users of all ages. They are great party favors and will be the hit of your party. Purchase some at your local party store. You can also practice your sliding puzzle skills online at grandmatrix.com. Get started on your sliding puzzle today!